July 31, 2015

In NYTsgate, the Hillary Clinton campaign director for communications Jennifer Palmieri seems to becoming The Lady Doth Protest Too Much, methinks. If the campaign were going well, there would be no need to keep coming up with big phrases about how the newspaper dropped the ball.

Meanwhile, Clinton is sinking in the polls.

Amid the distractions of NYTsgate and the conservative glee about bad survey numbers such as from Quinnipiac, no substantive policy proposals are being put out there by the Clinton folks. How about, for example, a commitment to save Social Security from more than 20 percent future cuts?

The time has come. Clinton should consider dropping out of the race. Otherwise it's likely the GOP will win. She can give her support to other Democratic candidates now running or who might decide to run. Graciously she could divide her war chest to support their campaigns.

July 30, 2015

When Hillary Rodham Clinton entered the White House as First Lady, we Baby Boomers were thrilled. She was carving a different path.

Okay, that didn't pan out too hot. Her initiatives in reforming healthcare were deep-sixed. But she was smart enough to lay low. She oversaw the Easter Egg roll on the White House lawn.

And eventually she came into her own as a U.S. Senator from New York. Then she ran for U.S. President. That didn't pan out so hot either. But they she turned up as U.S. Secretary of State. And again she ran to become U.S. President.

Only, we are finding out that all wasn't what it seemed. As the New York Post reports, the latest Quinniapiac survey has her net favorability at minus 11%. The reason is, hammers the Post, "the endless drip-drip of scandal." The latest concerns her relationship with Swiss bank UBS while she was U.S. Secretary of State. That, of course, is just one of the issues she is battling. If she keeps having to push back on scandals, how can she campaign effectively?

Our Baby Boomer hearts are broken. Why has Hillary become such as magnet for scandal?

No, we don't know the facts. Not yet. But things don't look so hot, do they?

July 29, 2015

Spinning in high-profile disasters is no longer acceptable. As public relations experts note in the situation of illegal lion-killer Walter Palmer, a "human" response is demanded.

His best bet probably is to make what is called a "living amend." That is, act in a way to showcase that he has realized the severity of the wrong and done something concrete to correct it. An example might be to fund a initiative to protect wildlife. The expense of doing that should strain his budget.

Celebrities and corporations must embrace the same ethos of the living amend. The spun mea culpa doesn't cut it. It's mere massaged rhetoric, not a human response.

If Bill Cosby is convicted in a court of law of sexual assault we demand a living amend. Maybe that could be to fund a foundation which helps victims of such misconduct heal.

The same goes for corporations. The routine apology and paying a fine aren't enough. That seems exactly why in the prosecution in the case of Stewart Parnell, former head of the Peanut Corporation of America, is demand a "pound of flesh" - that is a life sentence. It was his deliberate negligence in food safety procedures which resulted in deaths and injuries.

July 28, 2015

A decade ago the ghostwriter for business thought leaders confided something I found puzzling. At the time.

In addition to being a ghostwriter he published history books. Both his agent for ghostwriting assignments and the publisher for his own books pushed back on his dual identity. Now I know why.

Essentially there are two reasons.

One, a dual brand identity can confuse clients. Annoyed, they find reason to fault the service. That's analogous to the psychiatrist who might also be known to be a major real estate developer in Manhattan. The assumption could be that his or her focus isn't entirely on the patient. That's the breeding ground for trouble.

The second problem is that there is fear the independent writer within the ghostwriter will superimpose his or her own voice on the clients' content. This can be something very real.

Until I gained a brand identity as a blogger, capturing the clients' voice was a no-brainer. That was an ability ghostwriters better have.

However, as I became recognized for my own voice, editorial arrogance crept in. There was the temptation to shift the clients' voice into rhetorical territory I recently had had a lot of experience with and which I knew would get attention.

Yet, that's not at all what sophisticated clients want. And that's why we ghostwriters who wear other kinds of hats have to keep a firewall between the voice which has resonated in our writing career and how clients can strut their most effective self.

It may not be possible to keep our dual identity under wraps. But we have to assure clients that our mission is to dig for and to honor their unique voice.

July 27, 2015

It takes courage. But, the current meme is that safe is the worst pickle to be in.

Over and over again, thought leaders, those on the front lines of selling, and folks seeking enhanced relationships are finding out: Pushing back is the way to achieve objectives.

That could take the form of mild controversy. The party line is to praise the 35 women who told their story in New York Magazine. Allegedly, they were victims of Bill Cosby. Pushing back would be to point out that making those disclosures was like flogging a dead horse. The Cosby brand is dead. The saga has now moved on to points of law. If the testimonials don't become part of the legal process, then they have been made a little late in the game.

Or pushing back could be to inform prospects they are wrong in assuming X will generate Y. No longer is it smart for sales reps to be affable order-takers. Not always will they be agreeing to solve the problem that is presented. Instead, they can gently but confidently show, no, that isn't the problem. This is it. And here's how we can help you.

In personal relationships we miss out on depth when we err on the side of caution. Asking questions is a version of pushing back. An example would be, "Sally, do you think we are getting enough out of going to Roger's cookouts? Or has the 'fun' reached the point of diminishing returns?" The empty ritual gets blown up. There's space for the new.

Pushing back effectively can position and package you as the go-to person for whatever. You bet, the value you create has been noticed.

July 25, 2015

The threat of lead-paint public nuisance litigation to investors of Sherwin-Williams seemed to have abated (pun intended).

Sherwin-Williams was among the three defendants in the Rhode Island lead paint public nuisance lawsuit which had been let off the hook by the state's supreme court - Download Statev.LeadIndustriesAssoc.,Inc.

But, from the get-go, another state-level lead paint public nuisance lawsuit - "People of California v. Atlantic Richfield" - should have worried investors. It should have also been a top-drawer issue to those managing public relations for Sherwin-Williams. Both its in-house staff and the public affairs consultants it hired.

When the bench trial began in 2013, California Superior Court Judge James P. Kleinberg told the defendants, including Sherwin-Williams, this: CA isn't RI. Our public nuisance law is very different. Settle.

The defendants didn't listen to Judge Kleinberg. Along with ConAgra Foods and NL Industries, Sherwin-Williams was found to have caused a public nuisance. The communal abatement fee was $1.15 billion.

That's only part - a small part - of the financial and branding challenge facing Sherwin-Williams. If the ruling isn't over-turned on appeal, legal and public relations problems could spread throughout CA and the rest of the nation. Not only for Sherwin-Williams but also for major sectors of the U.S. economy.

On Law360, Peter Hsiao and Andrew C. Stanley of the Morrison & Foerster law firm published a chilling article on possible scenarios if the holding is maintained:

" ... many states have public nuisance laws similar to that in California. Many of those states have also not yet directly addressed the application of public nuisance law to lead paint, or the overlap with a product liability type of action ... As a result, the imprecise nature of public nuisance law in various states suggests that California's decision could have a significant effect as precedent in other courts around the country."

Why have Sherwin-Williams' in-house communications team and the public relations firm or firms they outsource to not adequately addressed these possibilities? Clearly, much of the U.S. business community could be cut off at the knees with public nuisance litigation. The most vulnerable industries are utilities and auto.

I had been hired by a public relations agency to blog the Rhode Island lead paint trial. You can visit that coverage on this site, under "legal," November 1, 2005 to February 22, 2006. However, as Judge Kleinberg hammered, that state's laws about public nuisance are very different from those in CA. Therefore, reviewing the trial won't provide much insight about the CA litigation.

Never again will any political, business, academic or thought leader be able to get away with WASPY aka boring rhetoric.

The Donald Show had changed all that. And because we love it, he could go directly from the stage to the White House.

Politico asks experts how the Trump phenomenon will end? My answer is: It won't. It has been a total game-changer. Its impacts are already embedded in Americana. Its half life could be almost infinite.

Since Puritan times, the ethos of comporting oneself in public was to be understated. In Corporate America in the 20th century we speechwriters called that "statesmanlike." In academia back then, at least in English departments which are now essentially irrelevant, that was prized as wit. In dating, it was recommended as the way not to be cruel when sending the guy packing.

Trump has liberated us from all that. Instead of tactfully describing the neighbor as "having emotional challenges," we can cut to the chase. "She's a few sandwiches short for the picnic," we can say. That will be that.

In the spirit of the new conversational freedom in managing our little worlds, I decided not to "talk it over" with a guy I had briefly dated. Instead I blocked his calls on my iPhone. End of that story. I'm on the way to walk the dog by the house of the guy I do want to get to know a lot better. Who knows what I will say, given this is a rhetorical morning in America.

July 23, 2015

When the universe gives out gifts to newborns, the parents should push for fearlessness. That, more than anything else, seems to propel the shocking success of two very different entities: Uber and Donald Trump.

Uber is a relatively new startup in transportation. Recently it had the New York City administration of Bill de Blasio blink. Around the world, when regulators and the traditional taxi industry attack, it doesn't run. It creates strategy.

Donald Trump is a relatively old man in business. He is blowing up conservative politics as usual. No one, not even war hero John McCain can hide from the rhetorical grenades he tosses into crowds. He could make it to the White House.

So, have all the institutions in the U.S., be they church, school or business, been hammering parents with misleading advice? Your child needs character. Your child needs education. Your child needs the right mentor and the right internship.

Forget all that. Wealth, influence and power come down to not being afraid.

July 22, 2015

Sometimes we forget that it isn't only celebrities and the glam crowd who can be arrogant. It happens that ordinary professionals can be just as annoying in their hubris.

Take public relations player Bill Huey, president of Strategic Communications. On Odwyerpr.com, he posts that Donald Trump might consider a rehab of his image. What Huey finds the problem to be that requires rehab is Trump's negative commentary about John McCain.

Huey doesn't seem to get it. Trump's remarks are part of his rhetorical strategy of tossing grenades. So far it's been effective. In fact, so effective that GOP king-maker Rupert Murdoch, reports Gabriel Sherman in New York Magazine, wants to stop him.

It was through similar rhetorical boldness that Ronald Regan, a relatively old man, won the presidency. His were about morning in America, a return to the Happy Valley. And at that time of deep cynicism, they were just as shocking. And people loved every bit and piece.

By taking on the traditional parts of the Republican party, Trump can win enough friends and gain enough influence to be elected, just like Reagan, to become president of the United States. After he wins, he told Anderson Cooper, he would likely tone it all down. Trump knows what such a role demands in terms of statesmanlike, measured messaging.

Doesn't it show a lack of imagination about a disruptive strategy such as Trump's to recommend a stint in political-correctness rehab? Trump's staff can contact me to pitch in with any writing that needs to be done.

"Pope Francis is not as popular a pontiff as he used to be in the United States - especially among conservatives - according to a new Gallup survey ... among conservatives ... this year, just 45 percent have a positive opinion of him." - Nick Gass, Politico, July 22, 2015. Here is the article.

Pope Francis' tragic flaw is a lack of knowledge of issue management. The fundamentals of that mandate that you choose one focus, hammer it, and ignore the rest. People pay attention. The enemies you make you can manage.

In gadfly fashion, Francis embraced everything from the evils of capitalism to alleged climate change. All over the place, he made a lot of enemies.

Increasingly they included American conservatives who had once supported him. Obviously, he isn't going to be welcome at the GOP National Convention in Cleveland.

Had he been more skillful at public relations, he might have been leading conservatives in prayer at that critical event.